Activities of Silvia COSTA related to 2015/2129(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (debate) IT
Amendments (30)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the fight against the sexual abuse of children and child pornography needs a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach in particular for parental education of children; insists, for that reason, that measures such as awareness raising, training and education, in cooperation in particular with parents' and family associations active on the protection of minors, as well as with relevant civil society organizations, are just as essential in the fight against these crimes as assistance to victims, investigation of crimes and prosecution of offenders;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to Articles 7, 8, 24, 47, 48 and 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on final evaluation of the multi-annual EU programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies (Safer Internet),
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)
Citation 12 b (new)
– having regard to FRA report of 27 February 2017 on child-friendly justice: Perspectives and experiences of children involved in judicial proceedings as victims, witnesses or parties in nine EU Member States,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 c (new)
Citation 12 c (new)
– having regard to Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the protection of children in migration[1], [1] COM (2017) 211.
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Reports that sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children offline and online, including child abuse material, continues to be a major concern and a serious crime and violation of fundamental rights of the victims; stresses that these crimes cause short and long term physical, psychological and social harm to children with a continuous risk of re-victimisation and stigmatisation of the victims through the online environment;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas one of the main challenges for investigating child sexual abuse and prosecuting perpetrators is the lack of reporting by victims; notes that the lack of reporting is higher among boys;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. EncouraUrges all Member States who still have not fully implemented Article 23 of the Directive to adoptthis Directive, in particular Article 22, 23 and 24 , to adopt as soon as possible preventive measures concerning the regular training of officials likely to come into contact with children;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Calls on Member States in accordance with Article 23 to provide appropriate training and build competences with the new threats in the online environment and the widespread use of and access to mobile technologies and the internet, in particular among the judiciary and police units to assist them to properly investigate and prosecute perpetrators and to offer assistance to the victims;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2 d. Encourages the Commission and Member States to promote training and educational initiatives to all relevant stakeholders, including children, parents, teachers, social workers, child protection officers, civil organisations and national authorities; supports age appropriate innovative tools to promote empowerment, media literacy and online safety as compulsory education at schools;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the prevention measures should cover technology related aspects in particular, with a view to ensuring a safer internet and digital literacy; calls, therefore, on the Member States to adopt provisions to apply stringent technical measures, such as encryption and parental control by default, to ensure maximum protection for minors;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets that the Commission was not able to present its implementation reports within the deadline set out in Article 28 of Directive 2011/93/EU and thereforeat the Reports presented by the Commission documented only the mere transposition into national law by Member States and did not fully assess the compliance of the Directive; therefore, calls on the Commission to present a more comprehensive report focusing on enforcement by Member States; calls on the Member States to ensure that legal transposition is translated into effective implementation so as to ensure the protection of child victims and zero tolerance for child sexual abuse;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Believes that the term "child sexual abuse material" is more appropriate than "child pornography" for such crimes against children, since the term "pornography" presupposes consent; Stresses, however, that the new terminology shall not in any way restrict the offenses listed as "child pornography" in Art. 2 (c) and Art. 5 of Directive 2011/92/EU;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recommends that blacklists of websites containing child pornography be prepared by nationaland regularly updated by relevant authorities and communicated to Internet service providers to ensure that the action adopted is necessary and proportionate to avoid for instance over- blocking; recommends also the sharing of such blacklists of websites among the Member States through enhanced cooperation with Europol and its European Cybercrime Centre, and with Interpol;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Encourages Member States to exchange information about child sex offenders so as to prevent sex offenders from moving unnoticed from one Member State to another for work or for volunteering with children or children’s institutions; calls on Member States to step up information sharing on criminal convictions and disqualifications and to improve data collection in national registers of perpetrators;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Member States to make it mandatory for Internet service providers (ISP) to report child sexual abuse material detected in their infrastructure to law enforcement authorities, as well as national hotlines, and calls on the ISPs to preserve evidence;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on all Member States to allocate adequate financial and human resources to law enforcement authorities to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation, including specific training for police and investigators;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges Member States which have not yet done so to put in place hotlines to which Internet users can report child sexual abuse material they find online and that are capable of assessing this reported content with a view to implementing notice and take-down procedures; takes the view that such hotlines should be allowed to search for child sexual abuse material proactively, as is the case for the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in the UK; calls on Member States for a better cooperation between helplines and hotlines to ensure protection of children victim of sexual exploitation and abuse;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Stresses that the main challenges faced by the law enforcement and judicial authorities in the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse offences online stem from the dependence on electronic evidence and digital investigative techniques, which are madebecoming less effective by newdue to technologies such as encryption, and also by the discrepancies in data retention rules between the Member Statecal development; Calls on the Member States to apply the provisions of the Directive in a future proof manner, investing in technological and innovative solutions to increase the possibilities to prosecute perpetrators, as well as to dismantle criminal networks online and to protect victims;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges Member States which have not yet done so to put in place hotlines to which Internet users can report child sexual abuse material they find online and that are capable of assessing this reported content with a view to implementing notice and prompt take-down procedures, and remove content hosted outside their territory; takes the view that such hotlines should be allowed to search for child sexual abuse material proactively, as is the case for the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in the UK;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Urges Member States to introduce in their legislation mandatory background checks for persons applying or volunteering for activities or jobs relating to children, including software and online content developers, and to systematically exchange information on individuals posing a risk to children;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to step up their police and judicial cooperation to combat the trafficking and smuggling of migrant children, who are particularly vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and sexual exploitation, especially girls; calls for an enhanced exchange of information among authorities to trace missing children and for the interoperability of data bases; calls on the Member States to adopt an holistic approach involving all actors concerned and to increase cooperation with law enforcement authorities, social services and civil society; recognises the important role of civil society in identifying vulnerable children, given the lack of trust migrant children have shown in law enforcement authorities;
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to acceleratenhance, in cooperation with computer science schools and the internet industry, the notice and take-down procedures; calls on the Commission to facilitate an intense exchange of best practices in this regard.
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Highlights that there is an increasing threat to children affected by the refugee crisis exposing them to increased risk of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, in particular for unaccompanied minor children, as many are reported missing after their arrival; urges the Commission and Member States to address this phenomenon and to adopt effective measures to improve the situation and reinforce children's protection;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the best practices adopted in some Member States for the protection of children, such as the Barnahuset in Sweden; calls on the Member States to focus on ensuring the provision of legal aid, psychological support and assistance and to avoid the secondary victimisation of children;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. AcknowledgWelcomes that the Member States have put in place legislation and administrative measures to remove webpages containing child pornographysexual abuse material hosted on their territory; regrets the fact that only half of the Member States have incorporated provisions into their legislation making it possible to block access to such webpages for users within their territory; calls on the Member States to fully implement Article 25, including blocking child sexual abuse material where possible, and and give priority to the swift removal-at-source of child sexual abuse material to permanently delete it from the Internet and, when the removal is not possible, to proceed to the blocking of websites containing child sexual abuse material with the relevant safeguards in place;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Recommends that blacklists of websites containing child pornographysexual abuse material be updated regularly by the relevant authorities and communicated to internet service providers to avoid, for instance, over-blocking and to ensure proportionality; recommends the sharing of such blacklists of websites among the Member States, with Europol and its European Cybercrime Centre, and with Interpol; considers, in this regard, that newly developed hashing technology, such as PhotoDNA, sh among others, could be applied;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Member States to make it mandatory for internet service providers (ISP) to report child sexual abuse material detected in their infrastructure proactively to law enforcement authorities, as well as to national hotlines; calls on the Commission to continue its funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) so as to provide the hotlines with the adequate resources to fulfil their mandate to tackle illegal content online;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Recognises the active and supportive role in combating child sexual abuse material on the Internet played by civil society organisations, as is the case withsuch as the INHOPE Network of Hotlines, including the Internet Watch Foundation in the UK; urges the Member States which have not yet done so to set up such hotlines and takes the view that they should be allowed to search for child sexual abuse material online proactively;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission to continue keeping Parliament regularly informed on the state of play in relation to compliance with the Directive by the Member States, with disaggregated and comparable data on the Member States’ performance in preventing and combating child sexual abuse and exploitation offline and online; instructs its relevant committee to hold a hearing on the state of play in relation to implementation and possibly consider adopting an additional report on the follow up given to the implementation of the Directive;